PLANNING PROBLEMS

ARE WICKED PROBLEMS

Dragoș Vlad
Emilia Flocea
1. THERE IS NOT DEFINITIVE
FORMULATION OF A WICKED
PROBLEM
2. WICKED PROBLEMS HAVE NO
STOPPING RULES
 3. SOLUTION TO WICKED
PROBLEMS ARE NOT TRUE-OR –
FALSE, BUT GOOD OR BAD
4. THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE AND
NO ULTIMATE TEST OF A
SOLUTION TO A WICKED
PROBLEM
 5. EVERY SOLUTION TO A
WICKED PROBLEM IS A ”ONE-
SHOT-OPERATION”; BECAUSE
THERE IS NO OPPORTUNITY TO
LEARN BY TRIAL-AND-ERROR,
EVERY ATTEMPT COUNTS
SIGNIFICANTLY
 6. WICKED PROBLEMS DO NOT
HAVE AN ENUMERABLE(OR AN
EXHAUSTIVELY DESCRIBABLE)
SET OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS,
NOR IS THERE A WELL-
DESCRIBED SET OF PERMISSIBLE
OPERATIONS THAT MAY BE
INCORPORATED INTO THE PLAN
7. EVERY WICKED PROBLEM IS
ESSENTIALLY UNIQUE
8. EVERY WICKED PROBLEM CAN
BE CONSIDERED TO BE AN
SYMPTON OF ANOTHER
PROBLEM
 9. THE EXISTENCE OF A
DISCREPANCY REPRESENTING A
WICKED PROBLEM CAN BE
EXPLAINED IN A NUMEROUS WAYS.
THE CHOICE OF EXPLANATION
DETERMINES THE NATURE OF THE
PROBLEM S RESOLUTION
10. THE PLANNER HAS NO RIGHT
TO BE WRONG